During mass production, packaging, shipping and other manufacturing, warehousing and retail processes, automated motion devices, including, for example, automated guided vehicles and conveyor belts, are used extensively to transport both component parts, manufactured components, completed products and packages between stations. To track the movement of these components, the parts on the conveyor belt or automated motion device are often marked with identifying symbols such as bar codes, data matrixes, symbols, identifying characters or other types of identifying data. This data is imaged by machine vision systems or other data reading devices that include a camera for acquiring image data. After the image data is acquired, the data is decoded using a variety of advanced techniques including, for example, pattern recognition, and the data is used to track the movement of objects.
Typically, in a system of this type, an emitter/detector or other type of motion sensor is provided to detect an object approaching the camera or imaging system and to trigger the acquisition of data. These sensors are hard wired to the conveyors or elsewhere along the expected path of a moving object, and therefore add not only cost, but complexity to the wiring of the overall system. These sensors, therefore, make installation of the system more difficult. Moreover, these triggering systems render the resulting automated system more difficult to troubleshoot when problems occur, a problem that is particularly important in automated manufacturing processes where “down time” is extremely costly. A need remains, therefore, for a system and method for inexpensively, accurately and efficiently triggering an imaging system to acquire data.